Mapping Coronado’s Expedition: How Archaeology Reveals the Route
Presented by Archaeologist Dr. Deni Seymour
Archaeology provides a unique and important perspective on Coronado expedition studies. By following multiple lines of independent evidence, archaeologist Dr. Deni Seymour has identified 18 new Coronado expedition sites in southeastern Arizona. In this presentation, she conveys the nature of that evidence, how these sites were found, and the ways archaeology contributes to reconstructing the expedition’s path.
The talk also clarifies key concepts about “how we know.” Dr. Seymour explains how archaeologists differentiate between overnight encampments and a townsite, distinguish Spanish-period sites from Coronado-period sites, and determine where the route went by identifying—and eliminating—possible areas along the way.
About the presenter
Dr. Deni Seymour is an internationally recognized scholar whose work focuses on Indigenous connections to the past, as well as protohistoric and historic Native American, Spanish colonial, and Spanish expeditionary archaeology and ethnohistory. For 40 years, she has studied the ancestral Apache, Sobaipuri-O’odham, and lesser-known mobile groups—including the Jano, Jocome, Manso, Suma, and Jumano—who were present in the American Southwest during the same period. She has excavated two Spanish-period presidios, Santa Cruz de Terrenate and Tubac, as well as numerous Kino-period mission sites and Indigenous sites of the period. She also works with local Indigenous groups, including the O’odham, Lipan, Chihene, Manso, Piro, and Jumano, to help reconnect communities with their heritage.
Her current work focuses on Vázquez de Coronado and Marcos de Niza expeditionary archaeology. Through these diverse areas of research, she is helping rewrite the history of the pre-Spanish, expeditionary, and colonial-period southern Southwest. An award-winning author, Seymour has published extensively on these groups and this period, with more than 100 publications in refereed journals, edited volumes, and popular venues. She has also served as guest editor for several journals and has authored seven books, with four more in progress.
Seymour received her doctorate and master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1990 and bachelor’s degrees with honors in anthropology and environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1980. She has taught, worked for state and federal agencies, and held positions with several cultural resource management firms, including one she founded and directed. She is now a full-time research archaeologist affiliated with two academic institutions and the nonprofit Jornada Research Institute, and she serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.
Free For Everyone
Our virtual lectures are a part of our Outreach and Education efforts. They are free to our members and the general public. Recorded lectures are posted on YouTube and on the event page after the event occurs.
For questions about the event or how to register, please contact Tracy Loe ([email protected]) or Sarah Webber ([email protected]).
